Grant Smith

I’ve heard this a few times, most recently just a few weeks ago. And it got me thinking about how I learned about dog training. The vast majority of my learning experience has been reading, listening and watching. Dog training is a physical and practical activity. You have to work with dogs, and with people […]

Pilates is a healthy way to improve our strength and flexibility but did you know it can help dogs too? I was fascinated to discover this and was absolutely thrilled when Lindsey Fidler, a canine fitness instructor from Rotherham invited me along to one of her classes. Lindsey studied Equine Psychology at Nottingham Trent University

Food is extremely useful when training a dog …Food is simply unmatched for classical conditioning and is incredibly useful as both lures and rewards when teaching basic manners. … Unless it becomes a bribeIf you’re not careful, however, food can become a bribe and the food’s ability to influence your dog’s behavior for the better

This article was authored by Marty Becker, DVM, and Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, CDBC, CTC When a new puppy joins your family, you have a great opportunity to ensure she’ll grow up to be a confident, healthy dog. Central to that goal is helping her understand where she can and can’t go to

Just like people, dogs want to feel safe and happy. The emotionally protective practices employed through Fear Free help to keep animals calm and comfortable throughout care and prevent them from feeling a need to escalate to a bite. But as much as we plan and try to protect our precious pooches, the truth is

There are around 83.3 million owned dogs in the United States alone, and in recent years, organisations the world over have begun training dogs to detect medical conditions in humans. UK charity Medical Detection Dogs conducted research in 2013 detailing how dogs have the ability to alert their diabetic owners when their blood sugar levels are

Definition of Environmental Enrichment Enrichment is a dynamic process for enhancing animal environments within the context of the animals behavioral biology and natural history. Environmental changes are made with the goal of increasing the animal’s behavioral choices and drawing out their species-appropriate behaviors, thus enhancing animal welfare.—1999 AZA Behavior Scientific Advisory Group Individuals or Populations? When

One of the saddest things in private practice is witnessing the joy and delight of a new puppy turn to sorrow when, a few days after its purchase; it succumbs to a horrible disease like parvo virus or distemper. What makes it especially sad is that these diseases are preventable with correct vaccination. A growing trend appears